Victoria, BC four-piece The Bankes Brothers—brothers Nelson and Morgan Bankes on vocals and guitar, lead guitarist Carson Cleaver, and drummer Gray Oxley—sound like the youthful high of a late-night romance and the blissful stagger home the next morning. The sum of their forthcomingIn Waves EP’s parts is something fresh, exciting, and uniquely vibrant within the current sea of sleepy vocals and sedated guitar tones.
Following up on the previously shared title track, “Things I’ll Never Learn” hears the band reflecting on broken hearts from relationships that they just weren’t suited for. The new single speaks loud and clear to that age old problem of being drawn time and time again to entanglements of the heart that just shouldn’t be.
Brave New World is the uncommonly rich, joyous and exhilarating second album from Toronto singer/songwriter Erin Hunt that defies categorization while freely exploring the deepest yearnings of the human condition. A profoundly musical record built for headphone listening – to sit back, fire up a fatty and disappear into – but also perfect to blast over speakers, to groove to, until the music stops you in your tracks.
The album closer (and fourth single) “Won’t Give Up” is perhaps Erin and her band at its most dynamic and explosive – underpinning the lyric of resilience and faith – then perfectly matching the powerful, insistent refrain that typifies the spirit and drive and exuberance of the whole record: “We don’t give up, we don’t give up, we don’t give up.”
We talk to Erin about the video, below!
1. Tell us the story of this song, why did you choose to visualize this song specifically?
I wrote this song during a time of personal metamorphosis. I’d been single for awhile, recovering from a pretty monumental relationship, and was using my free time (there was a lot of it haha) to do a lot of soul searching and reconnecting with my inner/higher self. This song is that conversation between my soul and my identity. Interestingly, it was the most frustrating song-writing experience I’ve ever had; I kept trying to force the song into a typical pop arrangement, but it just refused to go there. I finally realized I needed to apply what I’d been learning throughout this metamorphosis: to go with the flow and allow myself (aka the song), to be what it needed and wanted to be. I learned it’s ok to be different and to express myself differently, not only from others, but from how I’d expressed myself in the past . There’s much beauty to be found in that perspective.
This song is deeply personal to me, but at the same time it felt really important to share its message, so I chose it to be one of the videos/singles I released. I’ve created a video for each of the four singles released for my album, ‘Brave New World’, this being the fourth single.
2. What was the inspiration behind this video(visuals, storyline, etc.)?
Like my songs, each of my videos is specific unto itself, meaning I don’t try to fit into any particular genre. I like to allow the song to tell me what it is, both in its writing and production. For “Won’t Give Up”, its general message is one of recognizing beauty and finding resilience in oneself. I chose to make the video solely with shots of nature being its beautiful and resilient self. In the bigger picture, we’re a part of nature and would do well to take our cues from it. It’s probably unconventional for me to not even appear in the video, but it just felt right. 3. What was the process of making this video?
Video director Martin Hawkes and I edited together shots of nature that he’d filmed, along with some stock shots, based on their representation of the lyrics, emotion and pacing of the song. Personally, I feel the main purpose of a music video is to pull the viewer in so they actually listen to the music. This ended up being a creative and smart way of doing that.
This was probably the most difficult song I’ve ever written. I was intent on writing it in a typical pop arrangement (which I usually don’t stray too far from) but the song just refused to go there. I kept trying to force it into being something it wasn’t and that’s why it took so long… Now I just shake my head at how stupid that would have been – it’s truly my favourite track on the album and my favourite song I’ve ever written.
Don’t Get Lemon is a captivating, paradoxical, and chic pop trio hailing from Austin and Houston, Texas. Their music exudes an aura of detachment while maintaining a catchy and danceable quality. Drawing inspiration from the vibrant music scenes of 1970s Berlin and 1980s Manchester, DGL aims to captivate the listener’s senses with their fusion of glam and synth-pop elements. While there may be other alternatives to DGL, one wonders if we could truly embrace them.
Taking its name from Michaelangelo Antonioni’s iconic 1966 film set in swinging London, Don’t Get Lemon’s track “Blow-Up” offers glimpses into the unseen darkness. The lyrics, crafted using William Burroughs’ cut-up technique, and imagery inspired by David Lynch’s “Blue Velvet,” weave together bittersweet melodies that offer a fresh perspective on the traditional three-minute pop song.
Toronto–based songstress Sam Casey wears her authenticity like your favourite pair of well–worn jeans. Her unfiltered and unapologetic songs are inspired by the past two years of her life: all the breakups, the makeups, the drugs, the dancing, the crying, the anxiety and the love.
Her passive aggressive song, “7 Second Superstar,” was inspired by TikTok fame. It comes off as judgmental because it is. Sam and her co-writers, Julianna Eye and Chloe Kay, felt critical of social media – TikTok in particular – and how it promotes a culture of one hit wonders.
“Julianna, Chloe and I wrote this song over Zoom in 2021 with TikTok reaching its height of popularity and all of us being quite literally forced to participate on the app,” Sam explains. “After a conversation regarding our experiences in the early-2000s and late 90’s (before social media existed), we decided to try a blink-182 vibe and about two hours later we had a song.”
We caught up with Sam regarding her new video below!
1. Tell us the story of this song, why did you choose to visualize this song specifically?
7 Second Superstar is important to me because Chloe Kay, Julianna Eye, and I co-wrote it. Chloe and Julianna are two of the first co-writers I had the pleasure of working with. The writing process was such a surreal experience. Given that we were writing during the height of Covid, this session, like all our other sessions at the time, was executed over Zoom and produced after the fact by Mike Schlosser. I was still quite new to the industry when this session occurred, so I remember nervously preparing my shoebox-sized university dorm room while waiting for the Zoom to start.
This being so new to me, I was more comfortable discussing things I loved about the music industry and just all in all keeping it light and fun during sessions. However, Chloe and Julianna have a way of tearing down walls… so they quickly opened me up, and within an hour we were all chatting about our deep feelings, opinions, and grievances with the industry, social media, and the norms we had all been struggling to abide by.
We wanted to do a visual for this song because it was written about the pressure on all current artists to partake in Tiktok, and furthermore, keep a professional presence on each and every social media platform. We thought it would be a cool idea to create a visual that shows what we “have” to do as artists/creatives, and what we “really” do, as people.
2. What was the inspiration behind this video(visuals, storyline, etc.)?
The video is divided into two main visual aesthetics: Media Sam & Real Sam.
Media Sam: This aesthetic is illustrated with colourful streamers, BIG makeup and hair looks, shiny outfits, and social media mangers directing my every movement. My character seems distressed at times, switching between large toothy smiles to exaggerated eye rolls and faces of contempt at the overbearing social media manager. This Sam is supposed to be the Sam you see on the media: big, bold, and unapologetic, with a very evident lack of understanding when it comes to the trends of the media .
Real Sam: This portion of the video is a fairly accurate illustration of my life outside of my career. I have a pretty small but solid group of friends who are all quite creative in their own right. The video takes place in a mall and captures many organic moments of our friendships throughout the day. The director decided the best thing to do would be to just give us guidelines for each shot and then hit the music and see what comes out of it. This is personally my favourite section of the video as it makes the viewer feel warm and fuzzy on the inside… everyone has those people that you are really yourself around and you can tell that we feel that way about each other.
3. What was the process of making this video?
Moon Reel Media created, directed and produced this video. They had a very comprehensive outline of how everything was going to happen and (hopefully) look in the video. The filming was divided into the two aesthetics of the video; One day at the mall with my closest friends/creatives, and one day in a small studio filming the more produced (Media Sam) scenes of the video.
The day at the mall was truly a window into our world. We just shot the shit all day, jumped around from store to arcade to food court. There was pretty much no prep for this day and three of the five of us were battling a RUDE hangover on the day of the shoot, so we were extremely happy to be able to wear loose fittting clothes and stuff our face with good greasy food.
The day in the studio was like a fever dream. We had four hours to do make up and hair and at least three full performances for four different looks. It was definitely an uphill battle, but with the help of my shoot assistant Lindsay we were able to do superspeed changes… other than the latex, that took a MINUTE. All I remember from this day is glitter, streamers, latex and baby powder.
Julia D’Angelo has just revealed her gorgeously crafted single and video for “Kathmandu.”
Julia D’Angelo’s music embodies a delicate avant-garde essence infused with a charming quirkiness, demonstrating her skill in seamlessly integrating conventional and groundbreaking elements to craft a distinct and harmonious sonic experience. While her artistic path initially unfolded in the realm of dance, Julia’s ventures into music, acting, and film have been greatly influenced by this background. As a result, she frequently embarks on projects that flawlessly unite various art forms, showcasing her innovative and multifaceted creative approach.
Listen in here:
Watch the video here:
Julia shares of the track:
“This song actually started out as a poem that I had written years ago. I was seeing someone at the time who’s window saw the most beautiful sunrises I’d ever seen in my life. I remember not being able to sleep one night, and just staring out the window – looking at the same sunrise that I had seen many times before, only this time feeling immense guilt, because I knew I had to end the relationship, and I was terrified. The first line of the song “Never been so scared of the night sky, never been so used to a white lie” speaks directly to that feeling. What followed was a journey through my imagination, from being trapped and held down, to bursting through that window and being – for lack of a better word – free.”
Infusing jazz-influenced arrangements, unusual rhythmic phrasings, and understated spoken word into her dreamy indie-folk melodies, Toronto born, Brooklyn based Julia D’Angelo is a multi-disciplinary artist focusing in music and film. With an emphasis on the lyricism within her tracks, Julia seeks to defy genre conforming rules and curate music that is both honest and authentic to who she is and how she views the world around her. Musically, she pulls a lot of inspiration from powerhouse women musicians throughout the years – Nina Simone, Bonnie Rait, Amy Winehouse, Fiona Apple, Norah Jones and Ani DiFranco to name a few – making their way into her music through inflections of smoke-tinged vocals and a subtle avant garde and quirkiness. Prior to pursuing music, acting and film, Julia grew up a dancer, so she often creates projects that meld all of these art forms together.
Graham and The Band Upstairs is an Atlanta based Americana band led by Graham Waldrop. The band creates music in the tradition of Bob Dylan and Neil Young, combining introspective lyrics with diverse melodies that meshes the folk, blues, and rock genres to create a fully realized sonic identity for each song.
Graham and the Band Upstairs’ “Standstill Blues” is a captivating and relatable blues track that encapsulates the frustrations of everyday life, particularly the infamous Atlanta traffic. Written from Graham’s personal experience of enduring lengthy commutes, the song explores the theme of stagnation and frustration but expands it into a collection of short stories that evoke a range of emotions.
Initially conceived with a different musical structure, Graham realized that the traditional blues framework would best suit the lyrics and the intended message of the song. This decision allowed the band to tap into their innate understanding of the genre, bringing a genuine and authentic feel to the music.
The interplay between band members is notable, with Josef and Zach providing a solid rhythmic foundation on bass and drums, respectively. Jeff’s skillful lead guitar licks inject the track with energy and vitality, while Veronica’s vocals shine whenever she takes the spotlight.
“Standstill Blues” resonates with listeners on multiple levels, as it captures the universal frustration and monotony that can often accompany our daily routines. Graham and the Band Upstairs have skillfully translated this feeling into a bluesy masterpiece, utilizing their musical prowess to express emotions that many can relate to. The track’s infectious groove and memorable storytelling make it a standout piece in the band’s repertoire.
With their ability to convey the realities of everyday life through the lens of the blues, Graham and the Band Upstairs continue to captivate audiences and leave an indelible mark on the music scene.
Modern Mystery 
You must be logged in to post a comment.